Floor Statements

Mr. President, last week, I criticized the Republican leader for the way he was handling Wall Street reform. I even criticized him for a series of meetings he held in New York and the result of the meetings. I want the record to be very clear, however, that I in no way was impugning the integrity of my friend from Kentucky.

The senior Senator from Kentucky and I have fundamental policy differences on a number of issues, but no one should take my disagreement with my friend to question his honesty.

Wall Street reform is as complex as the financial instruments that fueled a worldwide recession. But voting to start on the Wall Street reform is as simple as right and wrong. This bill and the debate are about the ability to trust our financial system again. They are about giving families the peace of mind that they will be able to keep their homes, that their savings will be safe.

We have a responsibility to bring accountability to Wall Street because each of us is accountable to the American people. We owe our States' constituents and our Nation's taxpayers the promise that they will never again have to endure a financial crisis such as the last one.

Today, the vote to begin debate on Wall Street accountability will answer many questions. It will reveal who believes we need to strengthen oversight on Wall Street and who does not. It will demonstrate who believes we need to strengthen the protections of consumers and who does not.

In light of the extraordinary effort we have seen from the Republican leadership, it will force each Senator to publicly proclaim whether party unity is more important than economic security. I know many on the other side would like to pretend that is not what is at stake. But we are not fooled and neither are the American people, two-thirds of whom we learned today support cracking down on Wall Street.

This past weekend I was in four different counties in Nevada. I heard the same thing everywhere I went, from everyone with whom I spoke. They said: Get this done. So many Nevadans are suffering because of the mess Wall Street created, and they know better than anyone that we have to fix it. Democrats agree.

That is why we stand for guaranteeing taxpayers that they will never again be asked to bail out big banks and that no Wall Street firm can become too big to fail.

Democrats stand for giving families more control over their own finances and for giving consumers more clarity so they can make the right financial decisions.

Democrats stand for protecting the life savings of hard-working Americans from Wall Street's gambling. We stand for making our financial system more transparent so we can rein in risky bets before it is too late.

In short, Democrats stand for bringing more accountability and transparency to Wall Street. As far as I can tell, the only thing Republicans stand for is standing together. They boasted about banding together at this time at all costs, even at the cost to our national economy. But a party that stands with Wall Street is a party that stands against families and against fairness. Among the many reasons we need to reform Wall Street is that those who work there have conspired for too long under the cover of darkness. They have acted recklessly because they know they will not be held accountable for their risks.

They do not think twice about using working families as pawns in a get-rich-quick scheme. I would direct everyone to read the best seller, ``The Big Short,'' by Michael Lewis. It is stunning in describing what they do with our money on Wall Street.

When you come to Nevada to gamble at one of the casinos, you are at least gambling with your own money. The people on Wall Street are gambling with our money. We know Wall Street does not like this bill. Of course it does not. It changes the system big bankers and hedge fund managers have taken advantage of for years.

Look at the rules of the road on Wall Street. Traders get to gamble away someone else's money with little risk and large reward. They get to take home their winnings and ask taxpayers to save them from their losses. That is how the system worked when they brought our economy to the brink of collapse.

Sadly, today the problem is it is still the way the system works. That is what we are going to correct with this legislation, a bill that is the product of months of bipartisan discussions, a bill that embraces Republican ideas and Democratic ideas.

This afternoon's vote is a vote merely to begin debate; it is not the end of the process, just the beginning. All we are asking is to be able to start debating. My Republican colleagues certainly do not hesitate debating this bill in press conferences or in interviews. So why would Senators object to debating it on the floor itself, the Senate floor?

Moving to this bill will move this issue from the sidelines to the playing field. It will bring these proposals onto the Senate floor so we can amend them, improve them, and act upon them. It will ensure this debate is part of the legislative process, broadcast live on television so every American around the country can watch and weigh it. Let's have that debate.

There is one more reason we need to reform how this financial system works. For far too long, too many on Wall Street have bet on failure-- yes, on failure. They have made billions betting on the housing market collapsing or other failures in the economic system.

We will see this afternoon whether enough Republicans on Capitol Hill are determined to bet on failure also. I hope not.

Madam President, I enter a motion to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked on the motion to proceed.

Madam President, I note the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, I move to instruct the Sergeant at Arms to request the presence of absent Senators, and I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. President, I express my appreciation to the Senator from Minnesota for allowing my interruption.

Madam President, following leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business for an hour, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each during that period of time. The Republicans will control the first 30 minutes and the majority will control the final 30 minutes. Following morning business, the Senate will turn to executive session to debate the nomination of Denny Chin to be U.S. circuit judge for the Second Circuit. There will be an hour for debate prior to a vote on confirmation of the nomination.

Madam President, today is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. It is an annual reminder of what we have the power and responsibility to do in our daily lives. It is a call to recommit ourselves to finding the right balance that preserves our larger environment even as we live in it and use it. Earth Day is also an opportunity for us to appreciate the great outdoors, spaces that are nowhere more beautiful than in Nevada.

But today, of course, is not the only day to do this. That is why I am happy to have supported a number of environmental initiatives over the past years to benefit my State and our country: protecting more than 3 million acres of key wildlife habitat as wilderness in the State of Nevada; introducing legislation that created the Great Basin National Park; providing more resources and better management for popular areas such as Red Rock Canyon and Black Rock Desert; enhancing the Carson River corridor and improving management of the Sierra Foothills, and expanding open space opportunities for the people of Carson City.

Right now, I am working with the Nevada congressional delegation to protect the Tahoe Basin from invasive species and devastating wildfires and to restore Lake Tahoe's water clarity and protect threatened species and wildlands. The act will also help protect the area's economy and its 23,000 tourism-related jobs.

Every Nevadan and all Americans should be happy today and use it as a reminder to commit themselves to saving money and reducing pollution by using energy more efficiently.

A Senator from Wisconsin named Gaylord Nelson created Earth Day 40 years ago. He did it after having visited, in his official capacity, a devastating oil spill off the coast of California near Santa Barbara. He came back and said to his staff: We need to do more to protect the environment. Give me some ideas.

The idea started out originally to be a day where they would march, and someone came up with the idea, though, that rather than ``birthday,'' ``Earth Day'' had a ring to it. That is how Earth Day was born. It came at a time when we didn't have the Internet. It was done mostly by word of mouth.

Just before the first Earth Day, Gaylord Nelson came to the Senate floor and warned:

America has bought environmental disaster on the

installment plan: Buy affluence now and let future

generations pay the price.

Four decades later, we must do more to get ourselves off that plan. We must do more to cultivate a society where fulfilling our responsibilities to nature becomes second nature.

I didn't know Gaylord Nelson, but I certainly feel I knew him because of the great work he has done. I have many of these Earth Days in Nevada. It is really a day of celebration.

That is something we have to do. We have to do everything we can to protect our environment.

Would the Chair announce morning business now.

I suggest the absence of a quorum and ask that the time be used against both the Democrats and the Republicans.

Madam President, the first 30 minutes is under the control of the Republicans.

If I asked that the time be counted equally, then the Democrats who are waiting to come after a half hour expires will not be able to get their full half hour. So I suggest the absence of a quorum, and because it is the Republicans' time, the time should be used as to their time, preserving the 30 minutes we have because we have speakers who want to come here.

Madam President, I don't know if you granted my previous request. If you did, I ask that the present request be the order of the day.

Mr. President, will my friend yield for a unanimous consent request and then the Senator will maintain the floor?

I will say to my friend, we have 99 other holds, but this one, I will have to acknowledge, is a little egregious. One of our finest military people is being held up for this. There are ways we can move around this, and we will do it as quickly as we can with cloture.

I appreciate my friend yielding.

Mr. President, we have to get this done. OK.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at 3 p.m., Monday, April 26, the Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 349, S. 3217, a bill to promote the financial stability of the United States by improving accountability and transparency.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Here we go again. This is a bill that has been out here for a month-- weeks. I think people even reading slowly would have a chance to work their way through that in a month. This Kabuki dance we have been involved in for months now--my friend, and he is my friend, the ranking member of that committee, the distinguished senior Senator from Alabama, worked with the chairman of the committee for weeks and weeks--weeks going into months--trying to come up with a deal we could move forward on. That was no longer possible. No negotiations went on. My friend from Alabama said that is enough.

Then we get the Senator from Tennessee coming in and spending weeks with my friend, the chairman of the Banking Committee, Senator Dodd. That fell through.

We are moving to this bill because we need transparency, we need accountability, we need someone to respond to Wall Street because they have not responded to us.

This game is apparent to the American people. My friends on the other side of the aisle are betting on failure again, as they did with health care, as they have done on everything this year. They did not get-- health care was not Obama's Waterloo. Maybe they want this to be his Waterloo, but it is not going to be. We are going to move forward on this piece of legislation because the American people demand it.

I have said publicly on many occasions, we need to get on this bill. Remember, we are not finalizing the bill. We are asking for the simple task we used to do easily: move to the bill. I am only asking permission to get on the bill--to get on the bill--and then start offering amendments. I am not asking everybody to approve the bill as it is written. All I am asking for is we move to the bill.

If there is an agreement reached between the ranking member and the chairman of the committee, it is easy to take care of that. There would be a substitute amendment. They would agree to it and probably it would be accepted pretty easily. So to think this is some way to bail out Wall Street firms is an absolute joke. Read the bill.

So in light of the objection, I now move to proceed. I am moving to proceed. It takes me 2 days. It takes the Senate 2 days for this to ripen. We are going to have a vote Monday. We should be on the bill today offering amendments, having opening statements on the bill. Those who think it is good, say something good about it. Those who think it needs to be improved, improve it. But, no, we are going to waste the next 4 days getting on the bill.

Cloture Motion

So in light of the objection, I now move to proceed to Calendar No. 349, S. 3217, and I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. President, just so the American public knows this also, if there is an agreement reached between Senators Dodd and Shelby and anyone objected to that agreement, I would have to start all over with a bill because it would be a new bill and we would have the same games being played. So if they can come to an agreement, more power to them. They will work this out as an amendment to the bill or a substitute.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed occur at 5 p.m., Monday--I will drag the vote; some people wanted it earlier, some wanted it later, and we will not close the vote until at least a quarter to 6--so that will be on Monday, April 26, at 5 p.m., and with the mandatory quorum being waived.

Mr. President, following leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business for 1 hour. During that time, Senators will be able to speak for up to 10 minutes each. The majority will control the first 30 minutes; the Republicans will control the final 30 minutes.

Following morning business, the Senate will turn to executive session to debate the nomination of Christopher Schroeder to be an Assistant Attorney General. There will be up to 3 hours for debate prior to a vote on confirmation of this nomination.

Upon disposition of the Schroeder nomination, the Senate will consider the nomination of Thomas Vanaskie to be U.S. circuit judge for the Third Circuit. There will be 3 hours of debate prior to a vote on confirmation of the Vanaskie nomination.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, every one of our servicemembers deserves the unqualified appreciation and admiration of the Senate and our entire Nation. Today, I wish to salute the service of one such soldier, a man who first answered his country's call in World War II and has not stopped.

Bob O'Malley served our Nation with distinction in the 10th Mountain Division in combat in Europe. He was a sergeant and a squad leader who led his men bravely and with honor. He put his life on the line on many occasions to protect his men and to fight for freedom against Nazi Germany and was recognized with his squad's admiration, the Combat Infantry Badge and, because he was wounded, a Purple Heart.

But he has not stopped serving his country. Bob came to Washington in 1965 and worked for Congressman Robert Sweeney before starting a 27- year career with the Doorkeeper of the House of Representatives. That is where I first met him, as a young Member of Congress. The Doorkeeper, Mr. Molloy, and Mr. O'Malley, had a suite of offices and it was kind of a hangout for Democratic Members of the House; especially it was a way for new Members of the Congress to become acquainted with what was going on over there. They were very caring about new Members and always pointed us in the right direction. I have always remembered those two men for all the good deeds they did on my behalf.

His was a 27-year career with the Doorkeeper. As I indicated, that is where I met him. By the time the war in Afghanistan started in 2002, Bob had retired from service in the House of Representatives. Most retirees are content to seek a well-earned life of leisure, but Sergeant O'Malley did not. He signed up for a new and worthy mission, waking every day to serve our Nation's wounded warriors. When the war started, he went back to work as a volunteer--again a volunteer-- supporting and caring for the men and women of the 10th Mountain Division, his old unit. He has made countless visits to Walter Reed, this great medical center

where these wounded warriors come to recuperate. On all these visits to Walter Reed, he spent countless hours talking and sharing stories about the Division and taking his fellow veterans to ball games and other events, including the sharing of meals on many occasions. When many of these wounded warriors could not make it home for the holiday, Bob would reach into his own pocket and pay for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years dinners for soldiers and their families at some of the finest eateries in the Washington, DC, area. Bob says that helping soldiers recover from their war injuries has added years to his life. We know it has added years to the lives of those he helps.

Bob O'Malley would be the first to tell you this is not a one-man mission. He has had help from many different areas. When he decided to help those wounded on the battlefield, for example, he enlisted the help of another veteran, Dom Visconsi, Sr., an original member of the 10th Mountain Division in World War II. He asked Dom to help and Dom was happy to help entertain and support these troops. Many of Bob's friends soon joined the cause as well, and they are a constant presence for the soldiers, whether here or at home. Our Army would not be the best place in the world without the work of veterans such as Sergeant O'Malley, whose life has been synonymous with service, sacrifice, and selflessness.

He is an inspiration to me, our Armed Forces, and our country. He is a hero, and I am proud to call him a friend.

Would the Chair announce morning business now.

Madam President, America today lost a civil rights icon. Dorothy Height died early this morning. She helped transform our country as considerably and as courageously as anyone who dedicated his or her life to ensure our Nation fulfills its promise of equality.

For decades, Mrs. Height fought tirelessly for the rights of women and African Americans and helped lead a national dialog about gender and racial equality. She was a trusted counsel of every White House since Franklin Roosevelt's administration. Generation after generation relied on her vision and tenacity and our country is better because so many sought her help.

Mrs. Height's legacy is in the fairer, more equal America in which she died and we live today. She knew her work was not done and she never stopped pushing her country forward. Until the last days of her 98 years, Dorothy Height was still fighting for equality and opportunity.

The thoughts of the entire Senate today are with Dorothy Height's friends, who are too numerous to mention, and her loved ones--and her loved ones are more than just her family.

Madam President, today, following leader remarks, the Senate will be in morning business for about an hour, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each. The Republicans will control the first 30 minutes and the majority will control the final 30 minutes.

Following morning business, the Senate will turn to executive session to debate the nomination of Lael Brainard to be Under Secretary of the Treasury, postcloture.

At 12 noon, the Senate will vote on that nomination. Following the vote, the Senate will recess until 2:15 to allow for our weekly caucus luncheons.

Following the recess, the Senate will debate the nomination of Marisa Demeo to be an associate judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. There will be up to 6 hours for debate, equally divided, prior to a vote on confirmation of that nomination. Upon disposition of the Demeo nomination, the Senate will immediately proceed to vote on the confirmation of Stuart Gordon Nash to be an associate justice of the same court, the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

Cloture motions have been filed on the nominations of Christopher Schroeder, Thomas Vanaskie, and Denny Chin. Today we will consider a way to move forward on those nominations.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Madam President, Wall Street reform is very complex. Few of us are experts in derivative trading or credit default swaps or even the intricacies of securities. But the principle before us is a very simple one, in spite of all these very complicated issues that will be in this bill. You either believe we need to strengthen oversight of Wall Street or you don't. You either believe we need to strengthen protection of consumers or you don't. I believe in those principles and in fixing what is broken.

That is what this good reform will do. It will enforce the strongest protections ever against Wall Street greed. It will give families more control over their own finances and give consumers more clarity so they can make right financial decisions. This legislation would guarantee taxpayers that they will never again be asked to bail out a big bank.

It will also ensure no big bank can become too big to fail and shield families' life savings from Wall Street gambling. It will make the system more transparent so we can catch bankers' excesses and then hold them accountable.

Our bill contains Republicans' ideas and Democratic ideas. It is good for consumers and for everyone who favors economic security over reckless risk-taking.

As I said, some elements of this reform are complicated. There is one part that is especially hard to follow. Similar to the most complex commodity, Republican reaction to cleaning up Wall Street is hard to understand.

This bill will bring to the floor the result of months of bipartisan meetings, investigations, negotiations, and consensus building. Our Republican colleagues, in spite of the fact that they have been involved in much of the negotiation, investigations, and consensus, are pretending this is a partisan effort.

I am happy to hear my counterpart, my friend, Senator McConnell, the Republican leader, talk about the need for more negotiations. We don't stand in the way of that. That is fine. This bill, when it comes to the floor, is going to be open to amendment, amendments by Democrats, amendments by Republicans. That is the way it should be. So no one should think the bill that comes to the floor is the final product. There will be amendments.

Some people strongly believe the bill from the committee is too weak, some believe it is just right, some believe it is too strong. So we need to make sure everyone understands this bill is not a final product. That is why I hope my friends on the other side of the aisle are going to let us bring this bill to the floor. Remember, there are only 59 of us, so if a single Republican is not willing to join with us, there will be no Wall Street reform. The Republicans will have killed Wall Street reform.

I am confident that is not what will happen. I read very closely the letter that was signed by 41 Republican Senators. I received a copy of it on Friday. There is not a sentence in that letter that says we are going to vote against moving to proceed, and I was happy to read that. They said they wanted more negotiations and there have been more negotiations. Senator Dodd and Senator Shelby--Dodd, the chairman, and Shelby, the ranking member--spent hours yesterday working on this bill, and that is the way it should be. The bill we will bring to the floor puts an end to taxpayer-funded bailouts. Let's all agree on that. It protects consumers. Let's all agree on that. But our Republican friends insist on pretending, in conversations I have heard on the floor, that it doesn't protect consumers and it doesn't put an end to taxpayer- funded bailouts.

We know Wall Street doesn't like the bill. That should speak volumes. It doesn't like this bill. Of course it doesn't. Look at the rules of the road on Wall Street. They get to take your money, money that is not their own, and gamble it away with little risk and large reward.

I was, for 4 years of my life, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, and that is not hunting animals; it is gambling. During those times, we had some very difficult issues dealing with gambling, with gaming. But I understood a lot about poker and 21 and roulette and other such things. But it was, on its face, a gamble. What they are doing on Wall Street, we should have the Nevada Gaming Commission come to regulate a lot of it because it is nothing but a gamble. That is what we are trying to do here, bring a semblance of finality and stability to what is going on there on Wall Street.

I again say it. Look at the rules of the road on Wall Street. They get to take your money--it is not their money--and gamble it away with little risk and large reward. It would be as if I asked a Senator from Georgia to go to Las Vegas with me and I will gamble away all his money, but I get part of the money for doing nothing other than telling him we are in Las Vegas.

There are many who do not want us to touch a system that has let them take our homes, take everything we have. They don't want us to touch a system that has let them take their winnings and ask taxpayers to save them from their losses. It is a pretty good deal. They can get all the money they can--that is not their own--and if they profit, fine; if they lose something, that is too bad, even though it is not their money they are losing, even though they are losing somebody else's. Wall Street knows, if we don't act, they will not be held accountable for their mistakes, and if things don't go their way, they know they will get a mulligan; that is, they can start over. That is the way the system worked when our economy teetered on the brink of collapse and that is the way the system still works today. We have to change that. That is what we have to change. With this Wall Street accountability bill, we will. That is what this is about. It is a Wall Street accountability bill.

Let's bring this matter to the floor and offer amendments. Let's not be threatening filibusters on different parts of the bill. Let's go back to the way we used to do things. Let's bring an amendment to the floor, let's vote on it, whoever gets the most votes wins, whoever doesn't get the most votes loses, and move on to the next amendment.

It is puzzling why my Republican friends are pretending that this bill to fix Wall Street is good for those who

benefit from the fact it is broken. Similar to the bankers themselves, it seems a number of Republicans care more about making short-term gains than they do about doing what is right for this economy in the long run. Some details of this debate might be complex, but the different sides are as clear today as could be. On one side are consumers and investors, families and businesses and the vast majority of Americans who want us to make sure the financial crisis they just lived through can never happen again.

That is our goal. They knew there was no regulation, minimal regulation, and those people on Wall Street took advantage of that. They were betting on things that would make famous Nevada gamblers blush.

They don't want us to just talk about it, they want us to do something about it. We have to decide who is on whose side here, because we are ready to act. On one side are those who want to make sure we never have a situation like we had before. On the other side we have Wall Street bankers. They are doing pretty well. Two major Wall Street banks reported profits between them of about $7 billion last quarter. I don't begrudge them making money. That is good. People in our great free enterprise system can make money. I am just saying we have to have rules that don't allow them to cause another problem, as we had, which is second only to the Great Depression. Some say it is worse. These Wall Street bankers are sitting very comfortably. They see nothing wrong with a system that privatizes their gains and socializes their losses. They don't want us to change a thing. Let's decide that we, Democrats and Republicans, are on the side of consumers and investors, families and businesses, and the vast majority of Americans who want us to make sure the financial crisis they just lived through can never happen again.

Those who think this legislation is bailing out Wall Street should look at it again. Let's move forward in a bipartisan manner to get this bill done as quickly as possible, go to conference with the House, have the President sign the bill. The sooner we do that, the more stable our economy will be, not only here in America but worldwide.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the time for morning business be 1 hour, that the fact that the Republican leader and I took extra time should not count, Republicans having the first half hour and the Democrats having the second half hour.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that any remaining time for debate with respect to the Demeo nomination be yielded back, and the Senate now proceed to vote on confirmation of the nomination; further, that upon confirmation, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the cloture motion with respect to the nomination be withdrawn.

I ask for the yeas and nays.